


Dinner for Four

by BlueMasquerade



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, Holidays, Kid Fic, M/M, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:06:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22275295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueMasquerade/pseuds/BlueMasquerade
Summary: All of his family was celebrating Thanksgiving somewhere else, so Dean Winchester decided that Thanksgiving for himself and his daughter Emma didn't have to be anything more elaborate than a frozen turkey roast. But then Emma invited her best friend Claire, and her uncle Castiel. Suddenly Dean's holiday plans were something entirely different.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 9
Kudos: 140
Collections: Destiel Harlequin Holiday Cheesefest Challenge 2019





	Dinner for Four

The grocery store two days before Thanksgiving was a particularly cruel and inventive form of torture, Dean thought to himself as he narrowly avoided getting clipped by a shopping cart wielded by a wild-eyed suburban mom. “Son-of-a-b…”

“Daddy!” Emma scolded him. “That’s a dollar for the swear jar.”

“I didn’t swear.”

“You were going to!”

“Yeah, well… you aren’t wrong,” he grumbled, pulling out a dollar from his wallet and handing it to the extortion artist. She smiled and tucked it into her small beaded bag, a gift from Eileen. He pushed their cart towards the meat section.

Two days until Thanksgiving, and he had no idea what he was going to do for the holiday. Truth be told, it didn’t feel much like a holiday. Sam and Eileen were spending the day with Mildred, the woman she considered the next thing to a mom, six states away. Bobby was off on a hunting trip with a friend, a rare opportunity he hadn’t been able to pass up. That was fine, Dean was happy they were all having a good time, but it meant that it was just him and Emma.

He picked up a frozen turkey roast, one of those meatloaf-shaped things that came with gravy in a plastic packet. No need to go any fancier than that, really. It was still turkey. Buy a box of instant stuffing, another for mashed potatoes, toss in a can of corn and a pre-made pumpkin pie and they were golden, right?

“Are we getting cranberries?” Emma asked. “When we were talking about Thanksgiving dinners in kindy-garden, lots of people said they have cranberries. Turkey and cranberries. Claire said she likes turkey legs.”

“No, I don’t think we’re getting cranberries this year,” Dean said absently. “You don’t even like cranberries.”

“Yes I do!”

“No you don’t. Last year you made a face and pushed them all to the side, and some of them got stuck under your plate and stained Eileen’s nice tablecloth.”

Emma pouted. “Why isn’t Eileen here? I miss her and Uncle Sam.”

“Yeah, I know, but they went to Michigan to be with Eileen’s friend Mildred, remember?”

“Mildred could have come here instead.”

“Emma.”

“Well, she could have!”

“Maybe she could have, maybe she couldn’t have, but she invited Sam and Eileen to spend Thanksgiving with her, and they accepted the invitation. So it’s just us, kiddo.”

Emma sighed dramatically. Dean had no idea where she got that from.

He dropped the turkey roast into the cart, then headed towards the frozen food aisle.

“Claire!”

Dean straightened, watching as his daughter darted through the crush of people to find her bestest friend in the whole world, wrapping her in a hug.

Standing right behind her was her uncle, Cas Novak. He looked like he’d just picked Claire up from daycare on his way home from work, going straight to the grocery store before heading home. He wore a disheveled navy suit with a white shirt and crooked blue tie, an ugly beige trench-coat that fit him horribly over the entire ensemble. He blinked, sporting the perpetually confused look Dean had grown used to on him. It shouldn’t be as appealing as it was.

Dean could hardly blame the guy. Life had dealt the Novak family a shitty hand this past year. In late February Claire’s parents, Jimmy and Amelia, had been the victims of a head-on collision with a drunk driver. No one had survived the crash. Sometimes, in his less charitable moments, Dean was glad the driver had been killed, too. Jimmy and Amelia had been his friends, had helped him through some rough times after Lydia left Emma on his doorstep and jetted off to God knows where.

Cas had arrived the very next day, uprooting his entire life to make sure Claire didn’t have to uproot hers any more than absolutely necessary. She’d lost her parents. He didn’t want her to lose her home, her friends, the rest of her life too. Dean couldn’t help but admire that. Then, as he’d gotten to know Cas better, his admiration had grown into something more. Friendship, sure. Different from the friendship he’d had with Jimmy and Amelia.

Jimmy and Cas were identical twins, but he’d never once thought that Jimmy was attractive _that_ way.

Cas had tried staying in the old house for a while, but when it turned out to be too hard, he’d sold it and moved to a different house about a mile away, somewhere that wasn’t steeped in memories of Claire’s parents. It was still close enough that Claire and Emma could see each other all the time. Not like they’d ever been within walking distance, not when Dean lived on the ranch property.

He kept old cars rather than horses, but still. The acreage was useful.

“Hey, Cas,” Dean greeted him, navigating the treacherous route between them with the added obstacle of his grocery cart. He glanced into Cas’ basket. Just a basket, not a whole cart. Smart move, that. Had to be easier to get around this hellscape without a cart. Not much in there, though. He spotted a bunch of carrots, tied at the tops, looking rather wilty this time of year, along with a carton of eggs and a bag of deli turkey.

Deli turkey, really? If that was their Thanksgiving meal, it was even more pathetic than the frozen turkey product in the aluminum pan.

“Hello, Dean.”

Emma and Claire were talking, whispering low enough that Dean couldn’t make out what they were saying above the hum of the freezers. But then both little girls turned as one.

“Claire is just having Thanksgiving with her uncle, Daddy,” Emma said. “But Thanksgiving is supposed to be for friends and family. And Claire is my very bestest friend in the whole world. So they should have Thanksgiving with us!”

“Can we, Unca Cas? Pwease?” Claire asked, lisping a little through the gap where her front teeth used to be.

Cas looked embarrassed. “Claire, honey, Dean and Emma already have plans. You can’t –”

“We’d love to have you,” Dean interrupted him, shocking the hell out of himself. Where had that come from?

“Dean…”

Well. He wasn’t going to back off. Go big or go home, right? “Seriously, Cas. We’d love to have you.”

“Yay!” Emma exclaimed, jumping up and down and hugging Claire. Claire patted her arm in a gesture that looked almost ridiculously mature coming from a five-year-old with big eyes.

“Well then. Thank you. We’d be delighted. What time?”

“Um. We’ll plan to eat somewhere around two or three?”

“We can come earlier and help with the preparations,” Cas said.

“Oh, you don’t have to—”

“Of course I do. Good night, Dean. We’ll see you on Thursday. Come on, Claire.” He reached out for Claire’s hand, walking with her towards the check-out lines.

Dean didn’t watch him walk away, or notice how his shoulders filled out that wretched coat. Not at all.

“Okay, munchkin. Come on. We need to start over with the shopping.”

Now that he was making a full turkey dinner with all the fixings instead of copping out on Thanksgiving, Dean had to get up early on Thursday, get that bird going. The only ones left at the grocery store were way too big for four people, especially when two of them were 5-year-old girls, but hey. He wasn’t about to settle for one of the breast-only things. Not when Claire liked the legs. If Claire wanted a leg, then Emma was going to want a leg too. If he was going to do this, by God, he was going to do it _right_.

Sam called around 11. “Happy Thanksgiving, Sam. Make it quick, I’ve got some to get the pie crust blind-baked here.”

“What?” Sam sounded, understandably, confused. “I thought you were going minimalist this year. Frozen turkey roast, pre-made pie, potatoes from a box.”

“Yeah, well…” He squirmed a little. “Emma invited the Novaks. They’ve had a rough year. Figured I couldn’t serve them chopped and formed turkey nuggets.”

“The Novaks. You’re having Claire and Cas? I thought you said…”

“I know what I said. Emma invited them, I couldn’t say no without looking like an ass.”

“To be fair, you often look like an ass no matter what you do,” Sam helpfully pointed out.

“Screw you, Sam. How’s Eileen? And Mildred?” And he was off. Dean wasn’t entirely sure if he’d really deflected Sam successfully or if Sam just allowed it, but frankly? He didn’t care.

The house smelled like pumpkin pie and roasting turkey when Cas and Claire arrived. Emma let them in and took their coats. Sometimes it made his heart hurt, how fast his baby was growing up. But then she dragged Claire over to watch Frozen, and everything was okay again.

Cas came into the kitchen, looking amazing in a pair of jeans that hugged his thighs like sin and a soft blue sweater than made his eyes look even brighter. Dean swallowed hard. Who ever really noticed eyes?

Apparently Dean did.

He wasn’t supposed to be noticing those things. Sure he might happen to know that Cas was bi, leaning more towards men. Jimmy had been open about it when he found out Dean was briefly dating a guy, wanting to let him know it made no difference at all to him and to their friendship. That relationship hadn’t worked out, but it was nice to know Jimmy was cool with Dean’s sexuality, especially with how active the Novaks were in their church. Dean didn’t always trust church folk when it came to sexuality.

“It smells great in here. Thanks for having us. I brought some wine for the adults. And brandy.” Cas held out a paper bag, supporting the bottom. “Brandy has always seemed fitting for holiday dinners. After dinner.”

“Yeah, I agree, that’s awesome. Thanks.” Dean flashed him a smile. “Shouldn’t be too much longer. Just let things finish cooking. You want to pour some of that wine and we can go watch football or something in the other room? Unless you’re in the mood for another viewing of Frozen. Don’t know about you, but I’ve seen it so many times that I can recite it from memory even if it’s not playing.”

Cas laughed. “You too? I wasn’t sure if I should be concerned. But I asked Claire’s therapist, and she said it was perfectly normal. That children, especially children who have been through a traumatic experience, like familiarity and predictability.”

“What could be more predictable than watching the same movie over. And. Over. Again?” Dean asked.

“Exactly.” Cas found Dean’s wine glasses and poured them each a drink. “I’m not actually that interested in football, though I’m not averse to it.”

“Yeah? We don’t have to watch. I don’t care that much either. I prefer baseball, honestly.”

“Mm. I don’t mind either, but I find I prefer the arts to sports. Have you ever seen an opera, Dean? Or the ballet?”

“Um… no? Though I have seen videos of Zepp concerts. God, what I wouldn’t give to have been able to see them live.”

“Zepp… Led Zeppelin? I’ve heard of them.”

Dean’s eyes widened, and he dramatically placed a hand over his heart. “You’ve heard of them. You’ve _heard_ of them? Cas, they’re only the greatest band ever. Em!”

“What?” she called back from the living room.

“Who’s the best band ever?”

“ZEPP!”

Dean nodded, looked at Cas. “I rest my case.”

“That isn’t a case. You asked a five-year-old whom you’ve clearly been indoctrinating since the day she was born.”

“Not indoctrinating. Educating. It’s what you do with children. You educate them on what’s important in life. Okay. I’m going to put some Zepp on while dinner finishes. Apparently sometimes you have to educate adults too.”

“You mean old farts.”

Dean laughed. He would not have expected that out of Cas. “Sure. If that’s how you want to put it.” He crossed over to the old turntable. He moved the speakers so they’d be directed towards the kitchen, then located his prized vinyl and started it playing. “Yeah?”

Cas chuckled, shaking his head with what Dean hoped was fond indulgence. Better that than polite tolerance. Sometimes it was hard to tell with Cas. “Okay. It’s good.”

“’Good’ is far too weak and insipid a word for Zepp,” Dean protested, indignant.

Emma and Claire came into the kitchen then, Emma careening in to collide with his legs. “Daddy. Can we listen to the Zepp ‘Frozen’ song?”

Cas blinked. “Led Zeppelin performed one of the songs from ‘Frozen’?”

“Sure!” Emma said, turning towards him. “Land of the ice and snow!”

Dean laughed. “Sure thing, kiddo.” He changed the album to play the Immigrant Song, laughing as Emma and Claire sang along, performing exaggerated moves.

Cas laughed too, which… okay, Dean really needed to not be charmed by the sight of him half doubled over, his eyes scrunched, his smile utterly amazing. How long had it been since Cas really, truly laughed?

“Okay, crew, grub’s on!” Dean called when the last dish was pulled out of the oven and placed on the serving dishes. “Go wash your hands, then sit down at the table.”

Some minutes of splashing and jostling later, they were seated, Cas across from Dean, the girls on the other two sides of the table.

Emma and Claire exchanged glances.

“Mr. Dean?” Claire said.

“Yes, Miss Claire?”

Claire and Emma giggled at that. “Are we going to do the thanks thing?”

“The thanks thing?”

Cas cleared his throat. “Claire and I have had some discussions about the meaning of Thanksgiving,” he explained. “About how there are some aspects that are culturally troublesome, but that the idea of getting together with family and friends, and taking the time to acknowledge the things that we’re thankful for, is valuable.”

Culturally troublesome? The kid was _five_. But Dean wasn’t about to say anything to criticize. Cas had gotten thrown in the deep end. He was doing a kick-ass job. Last thing he needed was for Dean to poke at him for word choice.

“Yeah,” Claire said. “We’re s’posed to say what we’re thankful for.”

Dean swallowed. “Yeah. Um. Okay. We can do that. Who wants to start?”

“I will!” Emma said. She bounced in her chair a couple of times while she thought. “Hm. I am thankful for Claire, and Daddy, and for Frozen, and for the Zepp Frozen song.” She looked around the table. “And pumpkin pie!”

“No pie until after dinner,” Dean reminded her with a laugh. “Okay, I’ll go next. Hm. I’m thankful for Emma, and Claire, and Cas. For other family, even if they can’t be here with us today.” He felt a pang at that, but it wasn’t tinged with bitterness like it had been before.

Cas and Claire got sad looks, and Dean kicked himself. Idiot. “Oh geez, I…”

Cas rose one hand in a calming gesture. “It’s okay, Dean.” He took a breath, reached out to take Claire’s hand and squeezed it. “For my part, I am grateful for good friends to spend this holiday with, and help us to remember that we still have people in our lives who are welcoming us into their lives and helping us to celebrate.”

Dean smiled, his heart clenching.

“I miss Mommy and Daddy,” Claire said sadly.

“So do I, sweetheart, so do I.”

She sniffled, but then managed a shaky smile. “I say thank you for Emma, and for Mr. Dean. And for Unca Cas. And for turkey legs?” She looked at Dean.

“And for turkey legs,” he agreed. “Who all wants turkey legs?”

“Me, me, me!”

After dinner, the girls eventually settled down again to play in Emma’s room, while Dean and Cas sat with a glass of brandy each in the living room.

“We really do appreciate your invitation,” Cas said. He swirled his brandy in the glass, then took a sip.

“To be honest, I wasn’t going to do much this year, with Sam and Eileen and Bobby all away from home. I was feeling all grumpy and like it wasn’t worth the effort. But having you guys here made it fun.” He smiled crookedly. It felt good, having someone else around.

Maybe… maybe this was a time to take a chance.

“Hey, Cas?”

“Yes, Dean?”

“So… what do you think about maybe getting together sometime, after Sam and Eileen are back, just me and you?”

“After Sam and Eileen are back?” He looked confused.

“Yeah, so they can keep an eye on the kids and we can do grown-up stuff.” He let his gaze drop, briefly, to Cas’ mouth.

Cas’ breath hitched, and he smiled a soft, tiny smile. “My brother always said I should come visit, there was someone he wanted me to meet. I wish I’d done so before the accident. What kind of grown-up stuff did you have in mind?”

“That depends. Thought we’d start with dinner and drinks, and then take it from there? Maybe move on to _very_ grown-up stuff.”

Cas leaned forward, placed his fingers lightly against the hinge of Dean’s jaw. “That sounds… very promising.” His voice dropped into an even lower register as he leaned forward and brushed a soft kiss against Dean’s mouth.

Dean shivered, feeling a well of potential. He was content, for now, to let it stay at that. Potential, until that date next week.

“Then it’s a date. Happy Thanksgiving, Cas.”

“Happy Thanksgiving, Dean.”


End file.
